


Wounds

by Over_Laurd



Series: Hurt then Healed [1]
Category: 21 Jump Street (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:29:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29578224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Over_Laurd/pseuds/Over_Laurd
Summary: A series of realizations of love and milestones after getting hurt.
Relationships: Judy Hoffs/Doug Penhall
Series: Hurt then Healed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172990
Kudos: 1





	Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> This is a modern day AU, set between 2015-2021(no mention of COVID, which I had and have recovered from). The first part is the first chapter then the other ones are shorter chapters. I have a little sequel series for it that will be short as well.

Judy had a crush. 

Judy had a crush on her superior. 

She was the newest to the Detectives unit a little over a year ago after she’d only been an officer 3 1/2 years, she had set a record in the precinct but not everyone was impressed by this polyglot wunderkind and one of them was her partner, Detective Douglas Penhall the older brother of one of her best friends in academy, Joey Penhall. Joey talked so highly of his brother but with the few years of knowing him she'd never actually met his older brother. Doug had been on the force longer than her and worked real hard to make Detective 2 years ago, a fact he was proud of. He made it known that he wouldn’t give her any special treatment for her looks or smarts like everyone else. She knew the rumors that floated around, ‘she was so beautiful she must have just slept her way to detective’.... 

Doug was a bit gruff with her, his old partners Hanson and Booker suggested it was because she was pretty and Doug had a soft spot for pretty girls. Hanson also told her about Doug's late wife who had died a few years before she met him. It would have been a good idea to let Doug open up in his own time and seek romance elsewhere, maybe with Dennis or Tom. Yet she fell for him.... real hard. She managed to find a crack in the widower’s force field and slithered in as soon as he showed a sign of being protective of her when a guy got handsy with her. Not to mention his adopted son loved her upon meeting her one day at the precinct and it was hard for Doug to remain towards neutral for her for too long. Beneath his rough exterior laid a funny and sweet guy who just wanted best for his kid, Joey said he used to be a lot sillier and goofier, but she guessed being a widower changed him a bit. He was a hopeless romantic oddly enough, she often found his attempts at dating other women amusing, that is before it slowly morphed into envy towards his prospects. 

She hoped it wasn’t completely one sided, while he’d deadpan compliments about her outfits and looks daily and seemed almost unaffected by her beauty in a ‘big brother’ way. She more than once caught him staring a bit stunned at her undercover outfits, the first time he’d seen her in a tight black bodice dress when they needed to do some recon, he blushed around her for a week. 

Tonight she wanted to make a move after a big case they had solved successfully had been convicted. She convinced him for them to pick it up after it had been passed around for more than 2 years she felt as if there were avenues unexplored and untapped. After a bit of prodding he’d given in and a month later they found the smoking gun to lead to a case and conviction. In celebration they took a 4 day weekend and she excitedly planned a nice dinner for them both. 

As for her best friend, Joey was well aware of her huge crush on his older brother and conspired with her to get them together, so tonight he’d babysit Clavo while Doug would visit Judy’s loft. She wore something nice, not too dressy or forward, a dark red red velvet long sleeve mini wrap dress with her dark red lip and hair cascading. She encouraged Doug to dress nicely because even though it would just be them it was still a dinner party. Tonight she was hoping to make some progress, Doug was still a bit of a tough nut to crack and she could tell he had intimacy issues but slowly she was peeling away his shell. 

“Hey hey.” he greeted at her door when she opened it. “Are you sure no one else is coming? You look like you’re dressed to impress. I brought wine.” Doug pointed. “Hello there Blanka.” he greeted her orange-ish Afghan Hound who jumped up on him for petting.

“Nope, just us and Blanka. I thought it would be nice to actually dress for a nice dinner since this is our first nice dinner that didn’t involve take out, staying up until 3 am until out bodies gave out from the nervous jitters we got from our 5 cups of coffee.” Judy joked. “Also it’s the first time we can actually sit and talk in a long time since you gave in to being my friend.” she grinned. 

“You are persistent and your banana chocolate chunk muffins wore me down. Not to mention, Clavo doesn’t just warm up to anyone especially now that he’s almost a preteen. He’s a sweet kid, but you know I think I might have rubbed off on him.” Doug shrugged. “Also he thinks you’re cool for naming your dog after a video game character.” 

“Well come on in. I prepared something special tonight, fancy even, way fancier than our usual eats.” Judy said practically skipping back inside. “I made Duck Confit, with roasted garlic duck fat cooked potatoes, and glazed brown butter carrots. For a starter a sweet pea salad on a ricotta cheese crostini while the food sets enough for us to eat.” Judy said showing him the set table with appetizers. 

“Wow Hoffs.” He said sitting down at the kitchen bar and taking a bite of crostini. “I wonder why you’re still single.” Doug said grinning as the flavors mingled in his mouth. Judy blushed and cleared her throat... about that. 

“Oh yeah...” she said tucking her hair. “Uh would you like something to drink? I got your favorite still stocked from last time we hung out with Joey or I open the wine or the one I got that would be perfect for the meal.” Judy offered. 

“Well Miss Hostess, I’ll take your guided suggestions tonight.” he smiled lightly. “I gotta admit, Joey and I didn’t grow up eating fancy stuff... In fact the first time I ever ate a bird other than Chicken or Turkey was when our Uncle Nick took us on this kick ass hunting trip after I brought Clavo home. You know bonding time.” 

“Well I’m sure you already know since I had such a reputation before I even came to the unit, but I grew up upper middle class and my parents wanted me to be I guess some socialite’s wife which is why they primped and groomed me so we could rise socially. They were real mad that I decided to become a cop because I always secretly wanted to be a detective or even cooler an international spy.” Judy said clasping her chest. 

“Yup that’s that twinkle eyed innocence is why we all make fun of you.” Doug teased. "Especially when you first started."

“Yes I know..” she narrowed her eyes while pouring his wine. 

“You were this skinny little girl telling me she was a cop, no less a detective.” Doug poked some more. “More like one of those youtuber pretty girls or something.” 

“Well I didn’t like you guys either, you were mean and hazed me for 4 months.” Judy folded her arms. “You made so many corny jokes to everyone else but never smiled around me for a while, I felt so bad.” 

“Yeah....” Doug said rubbing his head. “I just... I didn’t want a new partner and my best friend and old one got a big opportunity over in intelligence after he’d been through some stuff so.. Yeah I was real sore. I don’t think I ever apologized for being a dick at first, so I’m sorry.” 

Judy glared at him with arms folded and rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing like a guilt ridden apology to pair with wine and duck.” Judy giggled softly. “Apology accepted. Come on Blanka, your piece of duck is in here. Go have a seat at the table Doug.” 

Judy felt butterflies in her heart and hope that maybe her wish would be granted tonight and she could make her feelings for him known. Her friend Clarissa from assault crimes thought she was crazy for harboring a huge crush on him and Judy didn’t think she was completely crazy crazy just crazy in love..... 

Placing the food in front of him she felt like his actual girlfriend and the cute little grin with his slightly gapped front teeth made her feel warm all over. Doug was a little older than her, He was only 32 but she guesses the stress of fatherhood and their job put a bit of salt in his beard when he did grow it out, his light brown hair remained untouched. He was tall and strapping as well and she thought he had the cutest brown eyes. 

“This looks delicious as hell, this looks like it might be worth my cheat day.” Doug grinned. “Blanka is a lucky ass dog.” 

“He’s my rock, of course I feed him the best. Have you always been so into fitness?” Judy asked making light conversation. “Oh and dig in.” she offered. 

“Bon Apetit. I know French too.” he teased before cutting a piece of duck and spearing it along with a potato. He popped it in his mouth and his eyes almost rolled to the back of his head. “Holy shit this is good.” he mumbled. “Mmmmm....” he moaned. 

“Is it good?” she smiled. 

“It’s fucking divine.” Doug said eating another bite. “You know if the force doesn’t work out you should be a chef.” 

“Oh I’m not all that good.” she blushed and waved him off. 

Doug shook his head. “I doubt it. Oh and about your question... yeah when I was younger I was huge nerd I got bullied a lot and I was a teensy bit chubby. So I got into sports and fitness to change my rep, it worked a bit I got promoted from bullied nerd to dumb jock and even got a girlfriend out of it.” Doug smiled. 

“Aw I’m sorry you felt you had to change yourself.” Judy frowned. 

“It’s alright I like being fit better. After my long time on and off girlfriend Dorothy dumped me I started to let myself go, then after Marta was kidnapped and then died I got even more out of shape. But then soon after I brought Clavo home, I worked to get out of my depression so I got back into shape because being fit makes me feel good, although I always tel kids, you don't have to be skinny to be happy.” he explained. 

“That's a good life lesson. I’m real sorry about Marta.” Judy frowned. 

Doug gave her a soft sad smile. “It’s been 5 years, it doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” he nodded. “But let’s not cry over dinner, don’t wanna over salt this perfectly seasoned food.” 

Judy nodded. “It’s good to share.” Judy said biting her own food... she really did outdo herself, perhaps because she was hoping the age old adage that a way to a man’s heart was through his stomach was true for Doug. “Oh and I know it’s your cheat day but the dessert is a hand made fruit sorbet, so it's not too much sugar.” she grinned. 

“You’re an angel chef.” he pointed with his knife. “That doesn’t make any sense, whatever.” he laughed at himself. 

An hour later after dinner, wine and dessert Doug was comfortably stuffed and so was Judy. Now she was hoping their relaxing resign to the couch and her electric fireplace would set a cozy and cute romantic mood. Reclined on the couch with their second glasses of wine it was glad to just talk without bringing up cases and stressing over connecting the dots. 

“You know Clavo asked if I can come watch him play baseball on his little league team this summer, is that okay with you?” Judy asked him. 

“Yeah it’s fine, you’ll get to see me coach, I’ll buy you an after game ice cream if you bring someone else to help me assistant coach.” he chuckled. “I coach Sal’s from I.T. son, and that kid is a lot by himself.” 

“Well not to toot my own horn but I was quite good at sports, I could help out.” Judy offered. “I mean I don’t have a lot to do, I just moved to this city a few years ago and I’ve only had enough time to make like 4 friends.” she shrugged. 

“What’s your credentials?” Doug grinned. 

“I played softball in high school among other sports like basketball, tennis and volleyball.” she listed. “and I love watching baseball, when I was back home I loved going to Cubs games. I’d get my little stadium dog and everything, unfortunately I left before I could get the stadium beer.” Judy giggled. 

“You get points for being into sports, but ugh, you get points detracted for being a Cubs fan.” he stuck out his tongue as if he tasted something nasty. 

“Hey we’re the most loyal fans of all.” she folded her arms. 

Doug mirrored her look and sassed his face. “Yeah and you only just recently won a single pennant.” he teased. “I didn’t peg you as a sports fan from the look of your-” Doug realized what he was saying and shut his mouth mid sentence. 

“From the look of my what?” Judy asked playfully. ”Because I’m a girl?” 

“No...it’s not that it’s.... you uh....” Doug swallowed. “Hey how did you get a fireplace in here?” he stuttered. 

“It’s electric.” she answered automatically. “Spit it out Penhall.” 

“We may have...... snooped through your Instagram before your first day.....” Doug cringed. 

Judy narrowed her eyes. “My Instagram is private and who’s we?” 

“Um.... well we knew only Joey was your friend on social media so Sal guessed his password so we could take a look.” Doug confessed. He remembers that day vividly its why he agreed to coach his son. 

Judy’s instagram wasn’t anything to risqué or top secret but from the look of her photos and knowing how much she got hit on in real life he could see why she privated to keep perverts out of her life. She did have some choice bikini, yoga and work out pics on there and even spicier night out pics but nothing denoting much of her private life. Still some of the guys got a kick out of her bikini pics but Doug told them to back off at the time because he didn’t need Fuller punishing him for her filing a harassment report. 

“Uh huh, doing some research then Detective.” she air quoted. 

Doug swallowed. “Did I ruin the evening?” 

Judy tapped her chin. “Well you snooped my background, its only fair if you tell me yours like how a guy with a thick New York accent like yours, got out here to Sleepy Hipster Seattle?” Judy smirked. 

Doug dropped his head. “I guess that’s fair...... I uh, grew up kinda rough I’m sure Joey told you about our parents.” 

“He did but he didn’t talk about your childhoods much.” she explained. 

“Yeah he didn’t remember most of it and I tried to shield him from dear old drunken dad as much as I could. Dad died when we were teenagers, we moved out to a different city out here to live with our Uncle. I got a job to help around the house but I felt like if I stayed in those slummy jobs I was gonna end up in jail somehow, so I worked until I could go to the academy.” Doug explained. 

“I see, how’d you end up in Seattle?” 

“Well... when I was a rookie fresh out of academy I got a cool T.O. and I thought he was the best cop ever, everyone told me how lucky I was. He was the cop everyone wanted to be, the cop I thought I wanted to be. I thought I was learning so much from him until one day.... I saw him throw a dealer off a roof, worse to find out a kid who wasn’t even a dealer he was just a kid that he planted evidence on. My captain thought I was crazy when I tried to speak up, even IAD thought I was crazy, even I thought I was crazy....” Doug looked up at her with an amused grin. “You think I’m crazy?” 

“That doesn’t matter.” she winked with a small giggle. 

Doug gave her a look that sent a delightful shiver down her spine. “Anyway it ended up working out for the better in the worst in a way, he ran into the mother of the boy he killed, he was actually a fry cook and he was working to help pay for her medical bills after his father died. I guess it ate him up to be faced with repercussions of his actions, a few weeks later her bills were magically paid with dirty money I presume, he admitted on self filmed confession video his crimes, and then he called me confessed again, and shot himself while on the phone and tape recorded.” Doug smacked his lips and downed his wine. 

“Oh my god, Doug that’s horrible.” Judy gasped. 

Doug nodded. “Yeah uh, damage was already done, even with knowing what he did I wasn't real popular but the police captain did me a solid and helped me transfer.... Around the same time Joey wanted to enter the force like me but since he was just turning 18 I wanted him to go to college since he’d gotten a scholarship. I moved out here to Seattle with my then girlfriend Dorothy and he came with. That was almost 10 years ago.” Doug finished. 

“Wow that’s very sad and disturbing. I feel like I should give you a hug.” Judy said. 

“I’d love a hug from you in that dress.” he leered playfully. 

“Offer rescinded.” Judy laughed. 

Doug chuckled. “Well, how’d you get such a sweet condo loft? This place is way better than my apartment.” Doug said looking around. He would be a liar if he didn’t admit to himself that when he first came over for work purposes he almost wanted to pay her just to use this place to kick back in, he would be a liar if he didn’t tell it would be for a man spa day. 

“Um long painful story like yours...” Judy said tapping her wine glass. “But since we’re sharing and bonding.” 

“You don’t have to talk about it if it’s too difficult. I shared what I wanted to with you because I’ve had time to heal.” Doug said putting a hand on her arm. 

Judy gave him a wide eyed look but nodded. “I haven’t told anyone this because I legally can’t tell you who it is...” 

Doug gave her an odd look. “What happened?” he asked concerned. 

Judy looked up and him and breathed deeply then stared into her wine before talking a big gulp. “Wh-when I was in the academy.” she started shakily. “I dated this guy for a year and I thought it was going great, he was tall, handsome and was pretty wealthy. I even thought since we were so happy we would probably get married. White house, picket fence, a dog.” Judy laughed wryly. “Even have kids….. because I fell pregnant.” 

“Oh...” Doug nodded. 

“Yeah well.... the guy I thought was so great turned out to be already married. I told him I was pregnant, he freaked out and pushed me into getting an abortion because he convinced me we weren’t ready and in return he also promised to get me a new place. And my God am I glad I didn’t keep that baby. His wife found out somehow and confronted me about it, I was his mistress that entire time and I was so embarrassed, I didn’t know….. She threatened him with divorce if he didn’t get rid of me, and divorce would ruin a lot of his business so. He got some lawyers, paid me off with a lot of money and got me the condo I wanted, fully paid off in my name.” Judy shrugged. “So.....at least I got the dog.” 

“Holy shit. Judy I’m sorry that happened to you.....” he frowned. “I see how you interact with kids and you'd be a real good mom, sorry you didn’t get to keep the baby.” Doug offered. 

“It’s ok now that was 2 years ago, I wasn’t ready yet anyway and I would like to have a baby with someone who isn’t cheating on their wife.” Judy gave a small smile. “You ever think about having another kid?” 

“I got Clavo when he was 4, he’s 9 now so I didn’t have to deal with the younger difficult years. I never took care of a baby.” Doug shrugged. 

“You ever want a baby then?” Judy grinned. 

Doug gave her a sly look. “If you’re gonna be the mother I’m interested.” he flirted. 

Judy blushed and looked away sipping her wine. “This big loft would be homier with more people in it.” she shrugged. “It’s a 3 bedroom, I don’t do anything with the other two.” 

“I don’t think I’ve seen your bedroom up there.” Doug said offhand. “I mean not that I had a reason to.” 

“Well I can give you a tour, the master bedroom is my sanctuary.” Judy said proudly. 

“If you’re cool with it.” Doug said getting up off the couch. “Let me see how cool it is.” Judy got and led the way to her master bedroom and felt her face grew hot as he trailed behind her 

“Here it is.” she waved him in. 

“Wow at lot less pink than I thought it would be.” Judy’s bedroom loft had hues of pastel yellow and blue accents making it pop with mixed grays and other dark colors. “Another electric fireplace and 1 million pillows as predicted.” he judged. 

“Shut up.” she laughed. “They’re comfy.” 

“You have a love seat by the fireplace with a big flat screen above it, with ooh.... a little drink cart. Someone did wanna be a 007 spy.” he teased. 

“Well I got it in hopes of when I got a serious boyfriend that we could have nice little nights at home.... Alas work is my boyfriend.” she blushed. 

“Well let’s put it to use, let’s see if a game is on.” Doug said hopping into the love seat and turning on the tv. “I could go for a cocktail.” 

“Great.” Judy said in faux annoyance, secretly pleased that he was basically putting himself on a platter. “It’s not really stocked. I just have a scotch I was gifted.” 

“I was joking I gotta drive. Look at us, hanging out.” He smiled and patted the seat. “I’m glad you’re my friend.” he smiled. 

“Yeah...” she said quietly. Judy sat on the arm of the couch and sipped her wine as her dog came in to get his ears scratched by Doug. 

“You know Clavo’s been asking about a Dog ever since he met yours. I’m trying not to cave but its hard to resist his little face. God he’s getting so big, I just want him to stay little for a couple years or something. But that ain’t how life is ‘ey?” Doug grinned at her. 

“Just wait until you have a baby, you get them when they’re so tiny and then you don’t want them to get bigger.... I remember my aunt was that way with my baby cousin. Still I can’t wait to have that myself.” Judy said fondly. 

“Boy or girl?” Doug asked. 

“Both.” Judy shrugged. “As long as a baby is happy and healthy.” 

“Hm... You’ll find someone...” Doug said quietly. 

Judy slid down into the seat. “I have, but I’m scared he won’t like me.” 

“Who wouldn’t like you?” Doug scoffed. “You’re smart, beautiful, talented, a great cook and you’re great at your job. Any guy would be a fool not to like you back.” 

“Any guy?” Judy repeated. 

“Any guy.” Doug smiled. “What’s he like? Do I know him?” 

“You know him.... he was a little rough at first but turned out to be very sweet. I don’t know how to tell him I like him.” Judy lead him. 

“Dudes are dense, you should probably just walk up to him and kiss him.” Doug joked and laughed but turned to look at her when she didn't laugh. Judy stared at him, eyes half lidded and like he had something on his face. 

“Jude?” he questioned before she moved forward and kissed him. Doug was surprised and it happened so quickly but it made him pull away. “What are you doing?” he croaked. 

“I’m sorry.” she blushed looking away as she slightly frowned. “I just... I thought I should do that. I’m sorry, I-” she said beginning to tear up. 

“It’s ok.” Doug murmured and placed his fingers on her chin guided her face back towards him as he leaned in and kissed her back chastely before pulling away and smiling at her. “I can’t believe I’m kissing office hottie Judy Hoffs.” he smirked. 

“Yeah.” she giggled and moved forward again to kiss him as he laid back on the love seat, a fitting name in this moment. Doug heard the dog whine then the soft padding of his paws as he exited the room. Yeah he might wanna get scarce for where this was headed. Judy was all over him and he couldn’t believe he was Judy’s crush out of anyone, not the way Booker and Hanson would stop by and routinely hit on her. Hell when she revealed to be Joey’s friend it was surprise, he would have thought Joey was hiding her because he liked her or something but she didn’t go after him either. Doug really didn't have any time to wrap his head around this...

Doug slid a hand up and down her velvet dress and it made his dick jump at the feel of her chest and ass. All of her was still perky just like her personality, all of her was eager too. He let her lazily explore his mouth and feel on his body as well, he felt smug when he heard her giggle as she felt his abs. When he felt the both of them radiating a lot of warmth he knew it was time to move things to the bed. He sat up on the couch and in one swift motion hauled her legs up around his waist and carried her over to the bed. He deposited her on it with a grin as she giggled and he stripped off his shirt before coming back down over her and kissing her again as she ran her hands over his abs.

“I never thought this would ever happen between us. I thought maybe I was too old for you.” Doug said between kisses, he could feel her untying the strap on her wrap dress. 

“Doug I’m 28 and you’re 32, that’s not a big gap.” She looked at him oddly. “Just because you act like a grumpy old man sometimes doesn’t mean you are one.” she giggled as he kissed on her neck. “or that you have a bit of salt in your beard.” 

“Fatherhood.” was his only answer. Man he hadn’t had sex in a few months now and underneath him laid his partner all ready to go..... His partner. 

Doug pulled away and looked down at her and her slightly glistening form as she looked up at him with adoration beneath her lidded eyes. “Are you ok? Do you need a condom?” she asked. “I’m on birth control too.” 

“No I have a condom I always carry one.” He answered automatically. “I-” He licked his lips. “Baby I can’t do this.” he said moving off of her and picking up his shirt. “I’m sorry.” he said rushing out and down from her room. 

“What??” Judy said trailing after him. “What’s wrong??” she asked her voice getting squeaky. 

“Judy this, I can’t.” he faltered as he put on his shoe. “I’m sorry. Thanks for dinner. Sorry.” he said again before rushing out of her door. 

Judy stared at the door a good long time as her eyes slowly welled up with tears and rolled down her cheeks until she finally sat on the floor and sobbed quietly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Three Weeks. 

Three Weeks since she got to say more than two sentences to him, she’s barely seen him for the past two weeks however. 

The first week and the day after their dinner together he wasn’t at their desk. When she asked Fuller about it as casually as she could he told her Doug had been sought out to help with a narcotics case since he had knowledge of it from a case he worked on prior to her becoming his partner. The only thing was he was teamed up with a Narcotics cop named Triss who seemed to have him wrapped around his finger in no time. 

Judy tried her best to focus on her cases but after seeing Doug and Triss around after a few times she became somewhat blue about the whole thing. She was guessing Doug hadn’t told anyone, not even Joey about what happened after their dinner. She had to ask herself was she jealous or actually seeing what she believed was Triss having tweaking jitters from using? 

The last time she spoke to Doug was the first time she’d spoken to him in more than a week. He was standoffish towards her and seemed upset that she even came up to him. She tried to tell him what she saw but he got super pissed and brushed her off, eyeing her with a glare while he scoffed a ‘whatever’ as he stormed off. He was on his way to have dinner with Triss. Judy would not cry in the precinct bathroom, she would go home and cry like a professional. 

By the time two weeks passed she still hadn’t heard from Doug but heard through Joey that he had to arrest his little drugged up partner Triss. Judy was right that not only was Triss a user she was a dealer as well and apparently Doug had been grumpier than usual according to his brother. She guessed two weeks wasn’t long enough for him to try and avoid her as long as possible. Since he’d jumped on switching a brief guard duty stint with Detective Romack assisting a kid involved with the mob into court this week. 

She didn’t have the guts to really confront him and since the first thing she said to him was about Triss she could guess he probably disliked her right now. She couldn’t really tell Fuller what was going on because they’d both get lectured or given new partners but at this rate he probably would get a new one.... 

Judy tried to be casual but at home she looked through the hiring boards in various divisions. If he wanted her to be out of his life she’d do that then. At least on her own terms she could go somewhat unscathed and for the both of them they’d move on, she didn’t know what to do about Joey though seeing that they were close friends. Maybe she’d just invite Joey over instead of going to his.... in the meant time it was just her and Blanka.... again. 

As Judy sat there browsing through the listing, a glass of wine and hand and considering taking a much needed vacation to a beach or whatever, her phone rang. 

“Hello?” she sighed into the phone. “What’s up Joey?” 

“Judy are you busy I really need you right now.” Joey said panicked on the other line.. 

“Joey what’s wrong??” She said standing up alarmed. 

“Can you come down to Swedish Medical Center, as soon as you can?” Joey asked worried on the other line. 

“Joey what happened?” Judy asked again. 

“Doug is here. He’s been shot, he hasn’t woke up yet.” Joey said quietly. 

“Oh my-” Judy said holding in a cry. “I’m on my way. Right now.” Judy ran around for a minute in a panic and then calmed herself. She checked Blanka’s automatic feeder bowls for food and water and took him outside for a bathroom break before she’d go and also to get her worried cries out of the way so she could see while she drove. After making sure her dog was ok because she didn’t know how long she’d be gone, possibly overnight she put on her jacket and headed out the door. 

Judy tried to steady her breathing while on the way over, a million thoughts were running through her head, a thousand emotions she loved him and was mad at him but she didn’t want him hurt but she didn’t know if he’d even would wake up and want to see her. Judy may or may not have used her sirens to get through traffic a little better, but she wouldn’t be the first cop to do it. When she arrived at the hospital she just needed to flash her badge to get through to where Joey was. 

“Joey!” She called to him and ran up and hugged him. “Is he ok??” she asked. 

“They gotta do surgery, he got shot in his head.” Joey told her. Judy covered her mouth with a gasp and tears threatened to spill but Joey stopped her. “Woah woah, the doc said it looks like it missed all the vital shit but they gotta take some swelling off his brain.” 

Judy sighed a bit and rubbed her head to gather herself. “Okay Okay, where’s Clavo?” she asked. 

“That’s why I called you down I was hoping you could stay here in case? I gotta pick him up from school and these days you need a two step verification system just to deliver cupcakes to a kid’s classroom. Doug didn’t get around to listing you or Tom as a trusted adult to take Clavo from school in case of emergency. Nothing against you two I had to remind him to put me on there.” Joey explained. 

“Oh ok, yeah of course I made sure Blanka was ok and stuff just in case.” Judy nodded. 

“Yeah Um do you mind after I pick him up if you watch him tonight? I gotta be here for most of the time and you’re a lot better with kids than I am, I'm not as good as a parental figure yet.... Clavo also loves you to bits.” he buttered her up. 

“Of course, yeah, sure.” Judy agreed. “I’ll make sure he’s comfy.” 

“Yeah I’ll stop by Doug’s and get him an overnight bag.” Joey told her. “He’s gonna be upset.....” He shook his head. 

“I wouldn’t blame him.” Judy bit her lip. 

“Ok Judes, I’m gonna go get his stuff and pick up the kid.” Joey began to leave. “Thanks for staying...” he said gratefully. “I don’t know all the details of what happened these past 3 weeks, why he’s been so grumpy or why he couldn’t see through Triss...... why he avoids talking about you. But I hope whatever is can be set aside, for Clavo’s sake.” 

“Of course Joey.” Judy said moving forward and hugging him again. “I love you guys so much.” she inhaled a slight cry. “I really do.” 

“Ok...” Joey nodded pulling away and kissing her cheek. “Don’t cry angel. I’ll be back soon.” 

After Joey left Judy found herself waiting just sitting and waiting, pulling out her iPad and phone and waiting until Joey would scoop up Clavo and come back. She thought maybe she’d pick up fast food but upon further thought, a trip to the grocers and cooking might be therapeutic for them both plus it would add a sense of normalcy. Clavo was sure to be scared about his adoptive Father being injured. In the meantime she called her Captain who confirmed that Hanson and Booker began investigating who shot Doug. 

A part of her wanted to be out there hunting this asshole down and another part of her didn’t want to leave because she couldn’t imagine Doug not being there in her life and she’s only known him a little over a year. God she hated this, she hated this for him, she hated him. She just wanted Doug to be okay, she doesn’t care if he still won’t like her after he wakes up but all she wanted right now was for him to wake up. 

She found herself looking through his Facebook profile which was set to public, she didn’t really use hers that she made a long time ago when she was 19 but she stopped using it after a few years. He seemed to update his with just pictures of him and Clavo every few months with people he assumed as his extended family and other cop friends liked. It seems as he got older he stopped posting so many pictures of himself taking “thirst traps” it was cute to see him go from womanizer party boy as Hanson put it, to a dedicated Father. 

She quickly put her ipad away when she noticed Clavo and Joey coming her way. Judy got up to hug Clavo who seemed to be anxious and a bit upset, understandably but he wasn’t really freaking out or screaming and crying. “I explained to him the best I could as soon as I picked him up.” Joey said keeping a hand on the boy’s head. “You’re gonna be safe with Judy.” 

“What about Papa Doug?” Clavo asked. 

“The doctors are-” Joey started but saw a doctor headed his way. “Right here, see? Dr. Jacobs, hi is there any update?” 

“Yes, he’s out of surgery and right now he’s sleeping off the anesthetic, he’ll probably sleep through the night, I’m afraid you can’t quite see him yet. Maybe in a few more hours when we’re sure he’s stable.” the doctor explained. “other than that we think he’ll be a little more lucid in a couple days.” 

The group collectively breathed a little easier but the two adults knew he wouldn’t be quite out of the woods until he was at least cleared to go home. 

“Thanks Doc.” Joey thanked the man. “Uh, Clavo has to do his homework and stuff so I don’t think it’s good for him to wait hours to see him. I’m gonna stay here and wait.” 

“Okay.” Judy nodded. “Call me if you need anything or anything changes. Come on Clavo.” she said guiding the boy towards the elevators.” 

“Wait.” Clavo said breaking away, he set his backpack down on a chair and pulled out a notebook and a crayon and began scribbling. Judy and Joey waited patiently as Clavo finished whatever he was doing. Clavo finished a few minutes later and ripped the paper off the rings and handed it to Joey. “Uncle Joey will you put this by his bed and show it to him when he wakes up?” Joey took the paper and examined that Clavo drew all of them roughly around a big heart and what he guessed was something about getting better in Spanish and then ‘I love you!’ in big letters. 

“I will buddy.” he smiled. “Be good for Judy okay?” 

“Okay.” Clavo said quietly taking Judy’s hand. 

Judy got Clavo all settled in the back of her Jeep and headed towards the grocery store. Maybe making some easy comfort food tonight and buying him a few sweets, then let him watch a movie. Tomorrow the weekend would start so he could stay up late or sleep in, but doubt he’d sleep due to being anxious. 

“Miss Judy?” Clavo asked from the back. 

“Yes sweetie?” she answered. 

“Was the doctor right? Is Papa Doug gonna be ok?” Clavo asked. 

Judy smiled In the rearview mirror. “Yes sweetie that’s one of the top hospitals around and they said it only nicked your Uncle he just needs rest so his body can heal from it.” she hoped the doctor was right too. 

“I’m angry he’s hurt.” Clavo confided. 

Judy frowned “I know sweetie. It’s okay to feel angry and upset.” she encouraged him. “I feel the same way.” 

“Is Papa Doug still your friend?” Clavo asked. 

“Yes honey of course.” Well she hoped so...... 

Clavo looked down at his feet. “He got real upset the other day when Uncle Joey asked about you.” 

“Um, he’s just been having a hard time with some things at work.” Judy swallowed. “Come on, we’re at the store. Let’s get some yummy food to cook and snacks.” she said leading him into the Walmart. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Judy never had Clavo overnight before, she’s babysat a lot after she finally befriended Doug but never had him overnight. She had gotten him set up in her bed with Blanka coming to lay by his side and turned on some ASMR for him after giving him some tea to help him sleep. Thankfully her little love seat in her room was just a short couch but it was long enough for her to lay on. She didn’t sleep much herself but she thinks Clavo finally conked out around 1 am. 

In the morning she made him waffles with eggs and bacon but he didn’t eat much last night or this morning. He was pretty silent on his way to the hospital which Joey was of course still there when visiting hours opened up. Walking in they both carried a few get well gifts and Judy helped him pick out, pay for and make some of the gifts he got for his dad. 

Judy was nervous to see Doug, but of course she let Clavo go first to see his father as she waited patiently in the guest area. She was so scared he wouldn’t want to really see her after this, thank her for taking care of Clavo then effectively end their friendship. She was scared for him, it took everything to keep it together yesterday and today. 

After an hour Clavo emerged from the room with his Uncle while Joey told him to wait by the door. “Hey Judes, he knows you’re here.... he said you can come on in.” Joey said quietly. “I still don’t know what happened but I hope you two work it out. Clavo and I are gonna go make some runs to Doug’s and then go get him his favorite foods as a treat.” Joey explained. “Come on Clav.” 

Judy watched them leave and steadied herself as she walked into Doug’s room as he seemed to be getting back into bed with a grunt. “Oh fuck why am I sore here....” he groaned. When he reopened his eyes looking towards the door he blinked a few times. “Judes..... come in.” 

Judy stepped into the room hugging his get well gift to her chest. “Hey. I’m glad you’re ok.” she smiled weakly. 

“I still feel pretty shitty.” he said lowly. “Mostly because the drugs make me sluggish.” 

“Still I’m glad you’re awake.” she said softly. The two adults looked awkwardly at each other as a pregnant pause filled the room. 

Doug sighed and cleared his throat, it was about time they dealt with this.... “Judes, we should talk.” he said each word carefully. “3 weeks ago... We should talk about that.” 

“Yeah...” Judy said sitting down. “Oh these are for you.” she murmured setting the stuffed bear, card and his favorite snacks on the table. 

“Thanks.” he murmured, gazing at the bear. “.... You wanna go first?” 

“Um, I guess.” she nodded and inhaled to keep calm. “I should just say it because it’s not really a secret anymore. I have a crush on you, I have feelings for you maybe a little deeper than a crush but... I’ve felt like this for more than a few months ?” she confessed. “I don’t really know when it happened but I just know one day I felt a flutter when you told me a really stupid joke and you looked so cute when you laughed, I couldn’t stop thinking about you before bed. You turned out to be a really nice man, a dedicated father and a huge sweet heart. I fell for it all and I couldn’t stop myself.” her lip quivered a bit. “That’s why it hurt when you ran off.” 

Doug watched her intently and nodded considering her words, he rubbed at his face a few times and sighed laying back on his pillow as he was feeling a bit winded. “You weren’t supposed to like me back.” he said softly. 

“What?” Judy asked as a tear rolled down her cheek. 

Doug turned his resting head to look at her. “You weren’t supposed to like me back.” 

“Like you back?” Judy asked confused. 

Doug smiled softly and shook his head. “I...” he chuckled. “I like you too. You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met and after I came around to get to know you I found out your soul is beautiful as well. You get along so well with Clavo and you’re a good friend to Joey, you’re a good partner to me. Which is why I ran away, as you’ve seen I’ve already been back in the dating game even before you came along, so it has nothing to do with Marta and everything to do with your career.” Doug confessed. 

“Oh....” she exhaled. 

“I was so angry afterwards that you didn’t think of yourself. Sweetheart you’ve worked so hard for your career, too hard to throw it away for an old dad with baggage.” he chuckled. 

“Doug for the 60th time, you’re 32.” Judy shook her head. 

“I know.... but still if we dated we couldn’t work together or even probably be in the same division.” Doug sighed. “Which is why..... After my recovery..... I’m gonna take the division captain for intelligence up on his offer. They want me back and they’ve created a new task force with Hanson, Booker, and looking for a fourth besides me in mind. It’ll pay more and it’ll be a lot safer than what I’m doing now. I’m not just taking it for you, in fact I’m taking it with Clavo In mind only.” 

“You won’t be my partner anymore?” Judy frowned. 

“No but I’d leave you in hands I trust, a guy I’d take a bullet for.” Doug grinned pointing to his head. 

“Don’t joke.” Judy shook her head. 

“I’m sorry.” he grinned again and his grin faded as he looked at her face, he could tell she had been beside herself. “I know you’re upset but.... if I take this, we could be together.... no problem. We could keep our careers and my life intact.” 

“Um... So you’d leave robbery and homicide, I’d get a new partner and you want to be with me?” Judy shook her head. “What about Triss?? For the past two weeks??” 

“I wasn’t thinking.... I don’t really have an excuse other than I was angry at you and didn’t know what I wanted. I’m really sorry for all of that, and I can understand you still being mad at me at least a while and I don’t expect you to like my decision but I like it, for me, for Clavo, for us.” Doug told her. 

Judy sighed. “You’re right I’m angry and I don’t like it, it’s all so sudden but I guess it is kind of my fault.” Judy slumped. “The past 3 weeks wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for me not thinking.” 

“No no, don’t say that sweetheart.” Doug shook his head. “Hand me a glass of water please?” Judy got up to get him a glass of water as he continued talking. “Things happen, whether it happens for a reason or not, it’s not something I like to debate with too much, who’s fault is who’s. Fate or Chance.” he said taking the water and taking a long drink and Judy waited patiently. “Thanks.... Anyway, just don’t think like that.... we have to keep moving forward okay?” 

“So what do you want to do moving forward?” Judy asked him, sitting on his bed side. 

Doug gave her a soft smile. “I want a redo on making that one night stand love child.” he joked and Judy looked at him with an exasperated frown. “Seriously, I would like if you’d let me take you out on a date, I would like to date you, I would like to be with you. If you’ll have me still.” 

Judy smiled at him and wanted to cry, why did it feel like she was being proposed to? Oh god she needed to calm down. “Why am I crying, this is so dumb.” she wiped at her eyes and laughed when he brought a hand up to wipe at her face as well. When she gathered herself she nodded. “Yeah I wanna be with you too, I wanna cook with Clavo more and I wanna go to my first professional baseball game in this city with you.” 

“I can make that happen, I can do that.” he grinned. “So when can I expect you to clean a drawer out for me? That bed felt real soft, don’t be mad if I come over just to get a good night’s rest in it.” 

“When you have flowers delivered every week.” she fluttered her eyes. 

The two laughed softly and he grinned. “Yeah yeah yeah enough yappin’ , Gimmie a kiss.” he waved at her. Judy laughed and bent over holding his face in her hands and kissed him tenderly. 

Judy had a crush and now she has a boyfriend.


End file.
